Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 76
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
as I row out into
the wide ocean and gaze
in the distance -
the white waves in the offing
are deceptively similar to clouds
wata no hara
kogi idete mireba
hisakata no
kumoi ni mayoo
okitsu shiranami
わたの原
こぎ出でて見れば
久方の
雲井にまよふ
おきつしらなみ
Fujiwara no Tadamichi 藤原忠通 (1097–1164)
This poem was written in 1135 during the reign of Emperor Sutoku on the topic "gazing out over the ocean." Tadamichi makes it a case of mitate, of "elegant confusion" between the white crests of the waves and the white clouds. This is a much admired poem.
Notes
- wata no hara: the sea-plain. "wata" means "sea."
- kogi idete mireba: ”I rowed out and looked far and wide". -ba" indicates a fixed condition.
- hisakata no: "hisakata" means "(high) sky."
- kumoi: normally "the place where the clouds are," but here just "clouds."
- magau: to be mistaken, to be confused.
- okitsu shiranami: the same as "oki no shiranami."
The Poet
Fujiwara no Tadamichi (1097–1164) served as regent and Grand Minister in the later part of the Heian period. He was the first son of Fujiwara no Tadazane. In 1121, he became the head of the Fujiwara clan. He served as Sesho (regent) and Kanpaku (Chancellor) under four emperors: Toba, Sutoku, Konoe, and Go-Shirakawa. His tenure of 37 years in the posts of Sesho and Kanpaku was the second longest after Fujiwara no Yorimichi, who had held the posts for a total of 50 years. Tadamichi is one of the principle characters in the Hogen Monogatari (The Tale of Hogen, c. 1320), a war chronicle which relates the events of the Hogen Rebellion of 1156.
He was a good poet and an expert calligrapher. A collection of his Chinese style poetry has been preserved, as has a collection of his other poetical works. He has 58 poems in the Kin'yoshu and other imperial anthologies. Tadamichiwas the father of Fujiwara no Kanefusa and Jien (poem 95). Thanks to the Hyakunin Isshu, he became forever "(in)famous" for not keeping his promise to Fujiwara no Mototoshi (poem 75).
References: Pictures of the Heart, The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image by Joshua S. Mostow (University of Hawai'i Press, 1996); One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, by Peter MacMIllan (Penguin Classics); Traditional Japanese Poetry, An Anthology, by Steven D. Carter (Stanford University Press, 1991); Hyakunin Isshu by Inoue Muneo, etc. (Shinchosha, 1990); Genshoku Hyakunin Isshu by Suzuki Hideo, etc. (Buneido, 1997); Chishiki Zero kara no Hyakunin Isshu, by Ariyoshi Tamotsu (Gentosha); Hyakunin Isshu Kaibo Zukan, by Tani Tomoko (X-Knowledge); Ogura Hyakunin Isshu at Japanese Text Initiative (University of Virginia Library Etext Center); Hyakunin Isshu wo aruku by Shimaoka Shin (Kofusha Shuppan); Hyakunin Isshu, Ocho waka kara chusei waka e by Inoue Muneo (Chikuma Shoin, 2004); Basho's Haiku (2 vols) by Toshiharu Oseko (Maruzen, 1990); The Ise Stories by Joshua S. Mostow and Royall Tyler (University of Hawai'i Press, 2010); Kokin Wakashu, The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry by Helen Craig McCullough (Stanford University Press, 1985); Kokinshu, A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern by Laurel Rasplica Rodd and Mary Catherine Henkenius (University of Tokyo Press, 1984); Kokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1994); Shinkokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1995); Taketori Monogatari-Ise Monogatari-Yamato Monogatari-Heichu Monogatari (Shogakkan, 1994).
Photo: Wikipedia
Hyakunin Isshu Index